Preliminary Steel Imports Decline 9% in September
WASHINGTON -- Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute reports 2.44 million net tons of steel were produced in September. This includes 1.87 million net tons of finished steel.
The total and finished steel numbers are down 9% and 8%, respectively, from August final data.
Year-to-date finished steel imports, however, rose 18% over the same month in 2011. Annualized total and finished steel imports this year would be 34 million and 26.3 million net tons, up 19% and 21%, each, respectively, versus 2011. The finished steel import market share in September was an estimated 22% and is estimated at 24% year-to-date.
Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in September compared to August are standard rails (up 256%), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 63%), standard pipe (up 16%) and wire rods (up 12%).
Major products with significant YTD import increases versus the same period last year include reinforcing bar (up 48%), line pipe (up 40%), sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped (up 33%), plates – cut lengths (up 32%) and oil country goods (up 31%).
In September, the largest volumes of finished steel imports were all from Asia and Europe. They were South Korea (295,000 net tons, up 18%), Japan (161,000 tons, up 3%), Germany (101,000 tons, up 8%), China (92,000 tons, down 44%) and Taiwan (81,000 tons, up 100%).
For the first nine months, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2.78 million net tons, up 25%), Japan (1.52 millon tons up 36%), China (1.18 million tons up 25%), Turkey (1.11 million tons up 96%) and Germany (920,000tons, up 28%).
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.